Kalepo Will Start Opposite Brailsford at Husky Guard
Until he was asked about his football status on Tuesday, Nate Kalepo was an "or" to those outside the University of Washington football program looking in.
In the lineups released publicly, Kalepo was listed as a possibility to start at left guard along with fellow junior Julius Buelow after redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford became the news of the week by winning the No. 1 right guard assignment outright.
The 6-foot-6, 318-pound Kalepo, however, set the record straight. He'll be there when the offense takes the field for the first time against Boise State on Saturday at Husky Stadium.
"The starting guards are going to be me and P.B. for the first couple of drives," he said. "I don't know exactly how they're going to do that rotation or whatever. While I'm in, I'm going to make the most of my opportunity."
Kalepo started the Huskies' first three games in 2022 as since departed veteran Jaxson Kirkland overcame ankle surgery and had to wait for NCAA approval in order to return, and then he rotated in thereafter.
The fifth-year junior from Renton, Washington, likewise has been duly impressed by the younger guys ascent up the depth chart with so little dues-paying.
"We all knew from day one, when Parker came in, he was going to be a guy, a dude," Kalepo said. "For him to come out and it as fast as he did and pick up everything as fast as he did, it was amazing to see.
"I feel everybody on the O-line knew what kind of tempo he was on and what he could be capable of and now he can go out there on September 2nd and show the world."
Kalepo and Brailsford are the new guards, replacing Henry Bainivalu and Kirkland, entrusted with keeping defenders from getting their hands on quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
For the UW veteran, he's had to deal with the 4-8 downturn of 2021 that brought a coaching change and welcome the 11-2 bounce-back season under Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff.
"Those that were there with me during that 4-8 season, we all know that feeling and we don't want to feel it again," Kalepo said. "Each day, we come in with that chip on our shoulder, knowing that nothing's going to be handed to us, especially this year. There's no more surprising people."
OK, Brailsford can be the unexpected development as the young guy making a move, but Kalepo is business as usual, a veteran starter.
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